TROY -- The forgeries on absentee ballot envelopes that led to Councilman Michael LoPorto's indictment apparently were identified as not being the councilman's writing, the special prosecutor has informed LoPorto's attorney.

The question of whose handwriting is on the envelopes is the latest development in the election fraud investigation that arose from the handling of absentee ballots by Democratic officeholders and operatives in the 2009 Working Families Party primary.

"How can you do a case about forgery and not do a handwriting analysis," Feit said Tuesday, adding that he questions whether the grand jury knew there had been no analysis.

In a letter sent to Smith on Tuesday, Feit said if an expert had been retained, "you would have learned that the writing on the subject documents was not his (LoPorto's)."

He also questioned why Special Prosecutor Trey Smith "didn't do this when he asked for the DNA last year."

DNA from LoPorto and McInerney was not found on the ballots, but prosecutors said witnesses had indicated both men handled the illicit documents.

Feit told Smith he would move to dismiss the forgery charges since Smith has failed to do so.

Smith could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

LoPorto has always maintained his innocence.

"I never touched anything. I never signed anything," LoPorto said.

Smith told Feit in his June 6 letter that he planned to seek a court order for handwriting samples from LoPorto and his co-defendant, Edward McDonough, the Rensselaer County Democratic elections commissioner.

LoPorto and McDonough are the only subjects of the ongoing investigation to be indicted. McDonough faces 38 counts of forgery and 36 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument. Besides the 13 forgery counts, LoPorto faces 29 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument.

"My client is not one of the good old boys," Feit said. He noted that LoPorto was snubbed when the county's Democratic committee handed out endorsements this week and was out circulating his own voter petitions Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the FBI is running a parallel investigation of the ballot fraud. Federal authorities have not said why they are running an independent probe in which they are interviewing many of the same witnesses contacted by the county's special prosecutor.